Dec 3 2010
Argonaut Gold Inc. (TSX:AR) has presented the final assay results for the 2010 resource expansion drill program at the 100 percent owned El Castillo gold mine in the State of Durango, Mexico.
The 2010 drill program included 308 drill holes spanning over more than 35,400 meters. The drilling, which commenced in December of 2009, was divided into two phases. Phase I consisted principally of a 100 meter drill grid to define the approximate limits of the El Castillo gold system. This program was completed in mid April and consisted of 136 drill holes totaling 15,851 meters.
A second phase of drilling immediately followed and was designed to fill-in and better define mineralized zones identified from Phase I. The Phase II program, which totaled 172 drill holes spanning over 19,500 meters, brought the drill spacing to approximately 50 meters. Since the last update on October 12, 2010 an additional 28 holes were completed. All drill results have been compiled and are being utilized to complete an updated resource estimate as part of a revised National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") compliant technical report which is scheduled for completion by year end.
Core Drilling
In early November, the Company also completed a small (7 hole) core drilling program to obtain additional material for metallurgical testing of transition and sulfide mineralization. It consisted of seven holes totaling 802 meters. Core material representative of transition and sulfide mineralization has been shipped to Kappes Cassidy & Associates in Reno where composites are currently undergoing column leach testing.
Tom Burkhart, Vice President of Exploration for Argonaut Gold noted, "The increase in the mineralized envelope at El Castillo provides as a strong indication of the potential for mine expansion at El Castillo. A new resource estimate, containing all the drilling, changes in operating costs and incorporating the overall mine improvements at El Castillo will be completed by year end."
Qualified Person Comments
Preparation of this press release was supervised by Thomas Burkhart, Argonaut Gold's Vice President of Exploration and a Qualified Person under NI 43-101. Mr. Burkhart also reviewed the reverse circulation drill program and on-site sample preparation procedures at El Castillo.
Source: Argonaut Gold Inc.